Political observers say U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has shifted perceptibly right since Tea Party darling Ted Cruz joined him in the Senate. If he's doing it because he's worried about being "Dewhursted," they suggest he has little to worry about. Full Story
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Andre Thomas is among thousands of mentally ill inmates in a sprawling state prison system that is struggling to keep pace with the increasing need for mental health care. Medical staff say they need more state funding. Full Story
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The quickly approaching sequester deadline in Washington has brought the potential consequences for Texas into sharp relief. Full Story
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Hospitals don't have authority to detain people in mental crisis who voluntarily enter their facilities. Advocates for reform say that is one of many holes in the state’s nearly 30-year-old mental health code. Full Story
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Public education advocates at a rally at the Capitol on Saturday accused lawmakers of strangling public schools with out-of-control high-stakes testing and funding cuts. Organizers said about 3,500 people attended. Full Story
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At the end of each news-filled week, we like to set some of our best stories to music. This week, in honor of reporter Brandi Grissom's "Trouble in Mind" series, we kick off our playlist with Janis Joplin singing a classic song of the same name. Full Story
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In this edition of the Newsreel: The Texas budget battle is finally under way (quietly), Medicaid expansion may be taking shape and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst tells the regents of the University of Texas System to lay off the administration at UT-Austin. Full Story
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Grissom begins a gripping series on mental health and criminal justice, Hamilton and White on the Senate’s defense of UT-Austin, Murphy’s interactive look at public school test scores, Ramshaw finds the governor digging in on the Medicaid expansion, Rocha and Dehn visit a weapons maker with Ted Cruz, M. Smith explores another angle on unpopular standardized testing, Batheja on a car that drives right past state laws, Aguilar reports on the other immigration problem, Aaronson on a break in the race for a cancer cure: The best of our best for the week of February 18-22, 2012. Full Story
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As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., wade into discussion of immigration reform, some El Paso leaders are urging them to include commerce considerations in their talks about safety and security on the southern border. Full Story
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Your evening reading: Cornyn draws Tea Party challenger; Perry heckled over Medicaid during speech in D.C.; hundreds rally at state Capitol for immigration reform Full Story
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Hundreds of people descended on the state Capitol on Friday to rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform. The day-long event also included visits to the offices of Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's recent comments accusing the University of Texas System regents of micromanagement and rumor-mongering must have resulted from bad information, UT board chairman Gene Powell said in a statement. Full Story
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At the quarterly meeting of the Texas Lyceum, I interviewed Erick Erickson of RedState.com and Joshua Treviño of the Texas Public Policy Foundation about the evolving influence of conservative media. Full Story
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Full video of Julián Aguilar's February 21 TribLive conversation about the impact of demographic change on public policy with state Reps. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock. Full Story
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State Rep. Mary González, D-Clint, wants to bring dairy farming back to her district by repealing a decade-old ban on the practice, the result of longstanding concerns over bovine tuberculosis. Full Story
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During his troubled adolescence, lawyers for death row inmate Andre Thomas say he never received the mental health care he needed. In Texas, there are few mechanisms to diagnose and treat youths who suffer from mental illness. Full Story
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Proposals to modify high school graduation requirements have won the support of educators and industry groups. But some worry momentum against high-stakes testing could sweep away progress in improving preparation for college and career. Full Story
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's recent reversal on Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act has left Texas as the last big-state holdout. But one key GOP state lawmaker sees some room for compromise. Full Story
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Expanding the state's Medicaid program under the federal health care law makes fiscal sense to some politicians for whom it doesn't make political sense. Full Story
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On last night's episode of The Daily Show, correspondent Jessica Williams talked to handful of Texans, include a former Republican candidate for governor, who want to secede from the "oppressive" U.S. Full Story
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